Free The White Amah by Ann Massey

her turn to entertain?
    ‘Rubiah is better with Millie than me,’ she said. ‘I don’t seem to have the knack with babies.’
    ‘You need to spend more time with her. You won’t have a maid when you go home.’
    ‘That won’t be for another couple of years. I’ll be better with her when she’s walking and talking. They’re more interesting then, don’t you think?’
    Leonie didn’t agree. She’d loved her babies madly through all their different stages. But it’s probably different when you adopt, she thought complacently. ‘You shouldn’t have let her have time off,’ she scolded, changing the subject. ‘She takes advantage. You pay her too much, too. I give my amah three hundred ringgit a month and she does a lot more work than Rubiah. Noor keeps my place spotless,’ she boasted, looking critically at Heather’s kitchen floor.
    ‘Roger says we can afford it. He’s on a big salary and the company provides us with a house and car and pays all the utilities.’
    ‘It’s not good for the rest of us. They talk among themselves, you know. Noor asked me for more money yesterday, but I soon put a stop to that.’
    ‘They have to send money back to their families, Leonie. It’s their culture. They don’t keep much for themselves.’
    ‘Mmm,’ said Leonie. ‘She’s gone back to her village, you say. How long is she going to be away?’
    ‘Only a week. Her brother’s getting married.’
    ‘Oh well, at least Roger’s offshore so you’ve only got Millie and yourself to look after.’
    ‘Yes,’ agreed Heather. ‘That’s one blessing at least. Roger phoned me from the rig and said the job was going to take longer than they thought, an extra week at least.’
    The tiny sandwiches were arranged attractively on Heather’s best platters and looked like they’d been prepared by a professional caterer.
    ‘Thanks for doing the sandwiches, Leonie,’ she said. ‘You’re a good friend.’
    Pleased, Leonie said, ‘I’m happy to help out. I tell you what.How about I let you have Noor in the afternoons, just till your amah gets back. Would that help?’
    ‘Would it ever. But do you think she’ll do it?’
    ‘She will if she wants to keep her job,’ replied Leonie. ‘I’ll phone her later and she can come round and clean up after we’re through. There’s just one thing I want to talk to you about before the others get here, partner. Do you remember how I told you to respond when I bid three hearts?’

Chapter 10
    ‘T HIS IS FOR YOU, R UBY,’ SAID R OGER, holding out a small package wrapped in the hotel jeweller’s distinctive silver paper sprinkled with tiny gold hearts. ‘Do you like it? That’s a real ruby. That’s why I chose it. You’re my treasure, far beyond the price of rubies.’ He dimly remembered the biblical text but not that it was intended to extol the value of a virtuous woman. ‘It’s a locket. See, there’s a space where you can put a photo. I could get you one of me,’ he said hesitantly.
    Roger had never been a ladies’ man, even when he was a young, fit fellow three decades ago. It seemed improbable that a stunner like Ruby could really be in love with him. ‘You’ll have to be careful not to wear it round the house. We don’t want Heather finding out about us,’ he said uneasily. Perhaps he wouldn’t give her a photograph after all.
    ‘Is very nice, Roger,’ said Rubiah, placing the locket round her neck. ‘You fasten for me please.’
    Roger lifted up her heavy black hair and breathed in her alluring scent, so different from his wife’s, who was keen on the Body Shop’s fruity fragrances and smelt like a fruit salad most of the time. His big, clumsy fingers trembled as he fastened the chain round his amah’s delicate neck. He bent to kiss her but she slipped from his grasp and ran over to the mirror.
    ‘Very pretty … you like?’ She smiled her coy, knowing smile.
    Roger gazed at the lovely Dayak, overwhelmed by her graceful femininity. What was